Pittsburgh – Joel Hanrahan recorded a four-out save Monday against the Cardinals and has looked superb in going 3-for-3 on save opportunities this season.

LA Angels – Manager Mike Scioscia announced Tuesday afternoon that Jordan Walden will get the Angels' save chances for now, unseating Fernando Rodney. Walden is young and largely untested, but he has plenty of potential, and our eyes get wide when we see his 28 strikeouts in 17.2 big league innings. He's certainly worth adding in most formats.

Key Matchups

Dan Haren v. TB – The Rays have a collective .317/.396/.540 line against Haren in 144 plate appearances. Manny Ramirez has been Haren's biggest nightmare, scorching the right-hander to the tune of 19-for-38 (.500), three homers and seven RBI, so perhaps this is the matchup Manny needs to bust out of his early-season slump. B.J. Upton has also fared well (7-for-20, 2 HR, 2 RBI), while Ben Zobrist has managed just one hit in 14 at-bats.

Jeremy Hellickson v. LAA – Angels hitters have just six career plate appearances against the 23-year-old Hellickson, so there's not much to go on here. Hellickson, who dealt with a hamstring issue this spring, will be making his season debut.

Kevin Correia v. STL – Correia picked up his first win as a Pirate in his season debut last week, but he'll be hard-pressed to repeat that success against a Cardinals team that has hit .326/.436/.500 off him in 111 plate appearances. Four different Cards with at least 10 appearances against him have hit above .300: Lance Berkman (.333), Ryan Theriot (.556), Skip Schumaker (.400) and Albert Pujols (.333).

Chris Carpenter v. PIT – As expected, Carpenter as stymied the Pirates in their previous meetings, holding current Pittsburgh batters to a .245/.283/.468 line. Ryan Doumit (1.139 OPS) and Lyle Overbay (1.128 OPS) are the only players who have found much success.

Felix Hernandez v. TEX – Hernandez and the Rangers are plenty familiar with one another (365 plate appearances), but for all their exposure, the Texas hitters have not been able to damage King Felix. He's made some of their biggest threats look lost, holding Ian Kinsler (8-for-46) and Josh Hamilton (6-for-31) under .200. Nelson Cruz (.306, 3 HRs) has been the lone exception. With the way the Rangers have been swinging their bats early this year, this is a classic case of unstoppable force meets immovable object.

C.J. Wilson v. SEA – Wilson's first start of the year was a bit of an adventure, and he'll likely need to be sharper Wednesday if he hopes to defeat Felix Hernandez. Only two Mariners have more than 10 plate appearances against him: Chone Figgins (.308 average in 26 at-bats) and Ichiro Suzuki (.267 average with nine strikeouts in 30 at-bats).

Jeff Francis v. CHW – This is Francis' first season in the AL, so he doesn't have a lot of experience against most of Chicago's hitters. The player who has faced him the most, Juan Pierre, has roughed him up with a .467 average in 30 at-bats.

Armando Galarraga v. CHC – No Cubs batter has more than nine career at-bats against Galarraga, so there's little history to go off here as the right-hander makes his Diamondbacks regular season debut.

Ryan Dempster v. ARI – Xavier Nady is 5-for-13 with two homers against Dempster, but not much else stands out here, as no other Diamondback has more than 12 career at-bats against him. Due to the general unfamiliarity, Dempster is a safe bet to post some good strikeout numbers.

Chad Billingsley v. COL – It's not a very large sample size, but Billingsley has quieted the Rockies in their previous meetings, holding them to a combined .204/.286/.355 line in 105 plate appearances. Todd Helton has hit .350 with a homer, but no other Rockie has hit better than .261 against Billingsley.

Jason Hammel v. LAD – Hammel's start was pushed back a day due to Sunday's postponement. He's held the Dodgers to a .243/.291/.408 line in 110 plate appearances, shutting down James Loney (4-for-17), Matt Kemp (3-for-13) and Juan Uribe (2-for-15).

Tim Lincecum v. SD – Despite getting tagged with the loss, Linecum pitched very well in his season debut and has another good matchup Wednesday in expansive Petco Park. Padres hitters have struck out 44 times in 126 plate appearances against Lincecum, and only Orlando Hudson (7-for-16) has numbers that really stick out.

Tim Stauffer v. SF – Giants hitters have hit just .190 off Stauffer, though that number is a bit misleading, as no player has more than nine at-bats against him. Stauffer was able to keep the Cardinals at bay in his first start, however, and if he can keep the ball on the ground, he could find success again.

Justin Verlander v. BAL – The surprising Orioles are in first place at 4-0, though they'll have their work cut out for them against Verlander, who has suffocated Baltimore hitters to a .233/.268/.379 line in 123 plate appearances. J.J. Hardy (2-for-13), Brian Roberts (3-for-19) and Nick Markakis (5-for-23) have had the most trouble.

Bradley Bergesen v. DET – Bergesen has limited experience against the Tigers (no player has more than nine at-bats), so it's not wise to draw many conclusions, but he has held them to a collective .250/.311/.393 line.

Daisuke Matsuzaka v. IND – Matsuzaka has dominated the Indians, holding them to a .208 average with 24 strikeouts and just seven walks, but before you get too excited, realize that those numbers have come in 84 plate appearances, so the sample size is small. Still, it seems to be a decent matchup for his first start of the year.

Mitch Talbot v. BOS – Talbot, who is also making his 2011 debut, has very limited experience against the Red Sox (just 30 plate appearances).

Carl Pavano v. NYY – The man Yankees fans love to hate for his failed stint in the Bronx could make them even angrier if he continues to stymie the Yankees as he has in the past. New York hitters have managed a meager .221/.255/.351 line off him in 141 plate appearances, with only Curtis Granderson (8-for-24) having significant success. Jorge Posada (2-for-10), Robinson Cano (1-for-11) and Nick Swisher (2-for-11) have all had trouble against Pavano.

Freddy Garcia v. MIN – The Twins' lack of success against New York is well-documented, but Minnesota hitters have fared well against new Yankee Freddy Garcia, posting a .294/.401/.529 mark in 182 plate appearances. Jason Kubel is 7-for-11 with a homer, Joe Mauer is 13-for-31 with two homers, and both Justin Morneau and Jim Thome have homered as well.

Mike Pelfrey v. PHI – Pelfrey and the Phillies have squared off plenty of times, and the results have been mixed. Ryan Howard is 11-for-30 (.367) with a home run, while Placido Polanco is just 1-for-11 (.091) with a strikeout. Overall, Phillies hitters are batting .260/.317/.359.

Joe Blanton v. NYM – This is a pretty good matchup for Blanton in his first start of the year. Only a few Mets have faced him more than 10 times, but those who have have struggled, including Carlos Beltran (2-for-14) and Jose Reyes (2-for-18).

Dallas Braden v. TOR – Braden had a rough spring and then asked that his first start get pushed back a day so he could make some mechanical tweaks, so it'll be interested to see how he fares in his debut. He doesn't have a lot of history against the Blue Jays, though most of the players who have faced him semi-frequently have hit him well: Adam Lind (4-10, 1 HR, 3 RBI) and Aaron Hill (5-for-12, 3 doubles, 3 RBI).

Jesse Litsch v. OAK – Yet another player making his season debut, Litsch has a very short history against the A's, facing only one hitter (David DeJesus) more than nine times.

Nelson Figueroa v. CIN – Again, due to a lack of plate appearances, there's not much to be found here, although the two players who have faced him more than 10 times (Edgar Renteria and Scott Rolen) have both hit .360 or better against him.

Edinson Volquez v. HOU – This one comes with the standard "small sample size" warning (just 78 plate appearances), but Volquez has held Astros hitters to a pathetic .162/.240/.221 line. Carlos Lee is a woeful 0-for-10, and Hunter Pence isn't much better at just 3-for-14 with five strikeouts (though he does have a home run).

Livan Hernandez v. FLA – He obviously doesn't have a lot of upside at his age, but Hernandez, fresh off a surprising 2010 campaign, allowed just two runs with no walks and three strikeouts in 6.1 innings on Opening Day. Given the relative youth of the Marlins roster, there's not a lot of history here, though Hanley Ramirez has been a thorn in Hernandez's side (9-for-26, 3 HR, 5 RBI).

Chris Volstad v. WAS – Volstad got hit in the leg by a line drive in his final start of the spring, but he'll be ready to roll Wednesday. Unfortunately, he sports a 5.70 career ERA against Washington, and Nats hitters sport a .347/.364/.495 line against him. One of the few exceptions is Jayson Werth, who is just 1-for-20 with seven strikeouts against Volstad.

Mike Minor v. MIL – Minor, making just his ninth career major league start, has never faced the Brewers.

TBD v. ATL – The Brewers have not yet announced who will start in place of the injured Zack Grienke, though it will likely be either Sergio Mitre or Marco Estrada.

Recommended Pickup

Jordan Walden, P, LAA – Manager Mike Scioscia named him the closer Tuesday, and Walden certainly has the arm to handle the role. His plus slider and high 90s (occasionally 100) mph fastball make him a natural fit for the job, and he has 28 strikeouts in just 17.2 major league innings. He cruised through his first save opportunity Tuesday, throwing a perfect ninth inning against the Rays, and will be the hottest name on the waiver wire come Wednesday morning.